Abstract:
The use of cinnabar in China can be traced to the Hemudu culture (ca.6,000 BC). Cinnabar was widely used in the Shang Dynasty as evidenced by the cinnabar pits in the Erlitou sites, the vermillion paint on oracle bone inscriptions, and cinnabar powder recovered in the tomb of Lady Fuhao. The preQin tombs excavated at Yuandingshan, Gansu Province revealed a large quantity of cinnabar powder in coffins. The lacquer containing vermillion was extensively used to decorate the wall and ceiling of the Dongbeishan and other Han tombs. All the archaeological data suggest extensive mortuary use of cinnabar in preQin and ancient China. Cinnabar is the raw material for preparing mercury. Analysis of soil samples collected from the mound area (126,000 m2) in the Mausoleum of Emperor Qinshihuang indicated that significant amounts of mercury were stored inside the tomb located 30 meters deep underground, supporting the notion that mercury was used to build models of rivers and oceans as described in the Shiji(Grand Record of History). Based on the mercury thermal analysis data and the geophysical measurements of the tomb structure, we estimated that the quantity of stored mercury underground could be as high as 22 tons or more. Comparing this value with the mercury production from a 10ton Texas Huttnerscott furnace in 1901, we concluded that the scale and technology of the cinnabar and mercury industry at the time of Emperor Qinshihuang was unprecedented at that time.
